Many applications require wideband antennas. Some of these applications are military related and may need an ultra-wideband antenna with an omni-directional pattern and which can be used to illuminate the ground around a vehicle for jamming radio control signals. These radio control signals may be used to detonate improvised explosive devices.
Several dipole-types antennas, forming an antenna farm, have been used with some success but they create a clutter on the vehicle and can interfere with each others. For a single-antenna solution, the bicone has been used by many manufacturers but the problem is that, for ultra-wideband, the beam splits in two parts over some frequency bands and creates nulls or minimums in the directions of interest. Also, it is difficult to maintain a good impedance match over such ultra-widebands.
Because such a wideband antenna will need to be deployed on combat vehicles, such an antenna would need to be ruggedized and designed to withstand at least some of the rigors of combat.
There is therefore a need for an antenna that mitigates if not overcomes the issues with the prior art and which solves at least part of the problems noted above.